Davies back on top with a romping victory

FOLLOWING on from Mark O’Meara’s win in Dubai, Britain’s Laura Davies made it a great weekend for veterans when romping to victory in Sydney.

Davies won her 66th career title when she returned to complete a great success in the rain-delayed AAMI Women’s Australian Open at Concord Golf Club.

Davies led by three shots with six holes to play overnight and a final-round two-under-par 70 for five-under 283 clinched a comfortable six-shot victory over Australia’s Rachel Teske.

Trish Johnson, with a closing 70, was in outright third on three over 291, while fellow Briton Johanna Head, with a final-round 69, was joint sixth on six over

For Davies, the win ended a 13-month victory drought and maintained her record of winning at least once every year since she turned professional in 1985.

“It’s great to prove that I can still compete against the very best,” said the 40-year-old former world number one

“This was a quality field and it’s a title I’ve wanted to win for a long time.”

Davies, who led from round one, all but secured the £35,000 victory when she made a birdie from eight feet at the 14th and moved five ahead of Teske, who had dropped a shot at the short 13th.

Johnson was also delighted with her result. “I hit a lot of good shots and it is a very promising effort at this early stage of the season,” she said.

For Davies, it was the perfect warm-up for the start of the US-based LPGA season in Tucson this week. “Hopefully, this is the start of a great year,” she added.